Sick Day - A Kakuzu Oneshot
by rizanicole
Summary: Just a short Kakuzu one shot that I came up with a while back. This isn't one of my favorite things I've written, but I hope someone out there will like it! Please review or message me and let me know what you think, I'm always happy to take constructive criticism. :) **Originally published on Quizilla 12/05/2012**


"Hey, Nora, would you get in here?!"

I sighed lightly as I turned away from the stove where I was making dinner. Following the sound of Hidan's voice, I walked down the hall to the room he shared with Kakuzu and opened the door. "What is it, Hidan-sama?" I asked, trying to sound respectful.

Hidan picked up his scythe from the corner and pulled on his Akatsuki cloak, not answering me for the moment. When he was ready to leave, he walked over to the doorway where I was standing. "Kakuzu's sick as hell, and I've got a mission to go on. Take care of the old man while I'm away, would ya?"

I gave a small, polite bow. "Yes, Hidan-sama." Hidan merely nodded at me and left, closing the door behind him. I supposed that, as the Akatsuki's maid/chef/general assistant, taking care of sick members was part of my job, but I'd never been asked to do it until now. The Leader mainly hired me to keep the hideout clean, but in reality I mostly broke up fights, cooked, and simply kept the members company when they were bored.

My attention shifted from my thoughts when I heard a cough from the corner of the room. I turned to look at a person-shaped lump under the covers on Kakuzu's bed. Until just now, I hadn't noticed his presence.

I began walking towards the bed and asked him, "Is there anything I can do to help, Kakuzu-sama?" The only reply I received was an incoherent groan.

 _Wow_ , I thought. _He does sound pretty bad._ I reached the bed and gently pulled the covers away so I could see his face - well, the part that wasn't hidden by his mask, that is. He was curled up on his side, eyes shut with his arms wrapped around him, looking far less threatening than usual.

I laid the back of my hand on his forehead, and the heat I felt confirmed that he had a fever. I removed my hand after a moment, not wanting to get on his nerves. Just then, I remembered that I'd left the stove on.

"I'll be back in just a few minutes, Kakuzu-sama." I said to him. "I've got to finish making dinner, but then I'll come back, okay?"

He grunted in what I took to be understanding, and I replaced his blanket and walked out of the room. Within a few minutes, I was done with the soup I had been making, not that I'd been paying much attention to it; I was mostly thinking about Kakuzu. After taking the pot off the burner, I ladled the soup into several bowls.

"Dinner's ready, everyone!" I called to the rest of the Akatsuki. I put a bowl of soup and a glass of water on a tray and headed back to Kakuzu's room, trusting the other Akatsuki members to be able to handle their own dinners.

I gently pushed open the door to Kakuzu's room, set the tray on his bedside table, and pulled up a chair next to him. "Here, Kakuzu-sama, I brought you some soup." I said softly, looking expectantly at his back. He rolled over to face me, cracking his eyelids open. He placed one hand down on the mattress and tried to sit up in bed, but seemed to be having some difficulty, so I wrapped one arm around his middle to help lift him up. Hey, any excuse to get closer to him was alright with me.

So I have a crush on the guy, what of it?

Once we'd managed to get him into an upright position, he said, "Thanks, Nora," in a deep, cracking voice.

I gave him a small, knowing smile. "No problem." Kakuzu normally wouldn't have deigned to thank anyone for anything, but the two of us had always gotten along relatively well. I'd been fascinated by this man ever since I came to work for the Akatsuki, and what the other members could tell me about him only sparked my interest more. It hadn't taken me long to fall head over heels for him.

I snapped myself back to reality when I realized Kakuzu was trying to pick up a spoonful of soup with a shaking hand. "Here, Kakuzu-sama," I said, intervening and taking the spoon from him before he spilled the soup everywhere.

He grunted in protest, seeming a bit frustrated. "I can do it myself, Nora."

"No, you can't," I said, looking at him with a determined expression. "You're sick, Kakuzu-sama. There's no harm in letting me help you out just this once."

He made no response for several moments before he nodded at me almost imperceptibly, his green eyes captivating me for the thousandth time. I took the nod to be his way of giving me permission, so I got some soup on the spoon and prepared to feed him. He was a proud man, so I could understand why he didn't want to do this, but at the end of the day, a guy's got to eat.

I'd lifted the spoon almost to his mouth when I noticed that his mask was blocking the way. My heart immediately started to beat a bit faster. I'd seen Kakuzu without his mask before, but he rarely took it off, even when he wasn't on a mission. He always ate in his room alone, so I never got to see him at dinner. As such, I cherished every opportunity I got to see his face, which I found gorgeous even with the stitches.

I looked into Kakuzu's eyes to see him looking at me with an expression devoid of emotion. "I-is it okay if I move this, Kakuzu-sama?" I motioned to his mask. He gave me a small nod.

I put the spoon down, and then raised my hands a bit nervously to either side of his face, pulling off the lower part of his mask along with the hood that covered his head. I felt my heart rate increase again when I saw his face. Somehow, it amazed me every time just how handsome he was. No other man could compare, in my eyes; there was just something about Kakuzu. And I didn't care what anyone else said, he looked _good_ with stitches.

He must have noticed me staring at him, because he cleared his throat and gave me a questioning look, as if asking whether something was wrong. I blushed and looked away, trying to hide my embarrassment.

"I'm fine, just thinking," I explained, still not looking in his direction. Neither of us spoke for a moment until I broke the silence. "Kakuzu-sama, why do you wear a mask?"

If the question surprised him, he didn't show it, as he simply shrugged. "I figure if I walked around looking like this I'd attract a lot of attention, which could be dangerous on missions." His voice still sounded rough, but it seemed to get better the more he spoke.

"I see," I said with a nod, turning my face back to look him in the eyes. "But, why do you wear it around the hideout?"

Kakuzu furrowed his eyebrows for a moment before answering, probably wondering why I was persisting with these questions. "I just got used to having it there, I guess. No point in taking it off if I have to put it back on later."

"W-well, I think you should go without it more often," I said, breaking eye contact to stare at the floor. "You look... nice without it."

At this point, Kakuzu gave me a rather confused expression. "What do you mean? 'Nice' as in 'friendly,' or..." he trailed off.

"No, I m-meant nice as in handsome." My blush increased.

Kakuzu cocked one eyebrow at my reply, and then a few seconds later, a small smirk appeared on his face. He took one slightly unsteady hand and placed it on my shoulder, grabbing my attention and causing me to look up at him. Our eyes met, and he asked, "You think I look handsome like this?"

I held eye contact long enough to nod quickly, but then resumed my staring contest with the floor.

There was a brief silence, before Kakuzu continued. "I appreciate the compliment. It's not every day I get told something like that by a beautiful woman."

I looked up with wide eyes just in time to see him moving towards me to plant a soft kiss on my forehead. "I've admired you for a while now, so it's nice to hear you say that," he said when he pulled back.

"I've admired you for some time, too, Kakuzu-sama," I answered, not entirely believing what was going on right now.

"Good," he said simply, pulling me into a warm hug. I eagerly wrapped my arms back around him and let my eyes slip shut, enjoying the moment that I'd never thought would actually arrive.

Once we finally pulled apart, I looked up into Kakuzu's eyes and, feeling somewhat bold, moved forward to kiss him on the lips. To my surprise, he pulled away before I could make contact.

"What's wrong, Kakuzu-sama?" I asked, worried that I'd already messed something up.

He shook his head at me and chuckled. "Nothing's wrong, I just don't want you to get sick."

"Oh," I said, the smile returning to my face. Instead of kissing his lips, I leaned up and kissed his cheek. "Well then, you've got to hurry up and get better!"

Kakuzu gave me a small smile. "I'll do what I can." With that, he pulled me into another hug. For now, I was happy just to be in his arms.


End file.
